7. Effectual Fervent Prayer

Posted on Posted in Prayer Meeting, Sermon Audio 2015, December 2015 Tagged with , , , ,

Hymns: 155 The First Noel 170 Mary’s Boy-Child 152 Joy to the World!

 

Life of Elijah

(Light In the Midst of Gross Darkness)

– Effectual Fervent Prayer

1 Kings 18:40-46; James 5:16-18

 

1 Kings 18:40-46 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. 41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

James 5:16-18 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

 

OUTLINE

  • Praying According to God’s Will (v41-44)
  • Receiving According to God’s Will (v45-46)

 

INTRODUCTION

You recall in last week’s pastoral newsletter, were given “Steps for Effectual Prayer” and the text cited was James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” It was mentioned 4 steps:

 

(I) Confession and Reconciliation (v16a)

(II) Prayer Restores (v16b)

(III) Burdens Lifted (v16c)

(IV) More Prayer, More Power (v16d)

 

The late Rev Dr Timothy Tow said, “United Prayer is like burning charcoal, more prayer, more power, less prayer, less power”. This is how a church becomes effective for God.

 

(I) Confession and Reconciliation (v16a)

– Confess your faults one to another…

 God’s Word commands that we are to confess our faults one to another. In other words, to forgive one another and to seek reconciliation when we have offended one another. It is a command for restoration. When we are willing to obey, the grace of God will enable us to have the courage to make reconciliation with one another. That requires mutual honesty, an openness which is in the root of the word “confession”, signifying full, frank, open confession.

 The psalmist correctly observed in Psalm 24:3-5 “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart…” and in Psalm 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”

 When there is no true forgiveness, there is no true reconciliation, hence no true healing. If a person has offended a fellow Christian, he or she should make right with that person privately. The confession is made to the person whom he has wronged. However, this verse also speaks of public confession by way of a testimony so that others can pray for our needs.

 

(II) Prayer Restores (v16b)

– And pray one for another, that ye may be healed…

 John Calvin remarked, “God does not hear the ungodly nor is access to God open, except through a good conscience: not that our prayers are founded on our worthiness but because the heart must be cleansed by faith before we can present ourselves before God.”

“Pray one for another” is the other command. It is a command that we pray continually, all the time, not by proxy, but to do so ourselves. It is our privilege as priests, having access to the very presence of God by the merits of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us.

 When there is reconciliation and the guilt of sin is taken away, washed by the blood of Christ, then there is healing. What is this healing? It is a spiritual healing, a restoration of a right relationship with God and with our fellow brethren. It does not preclude physical healing. When a sin caused sickness, confession and mutual prayer heal the sick, according to the will of God.

“Confession of sin and praying for one another are vital ingredients of the healing ministry in the Christian Community. When sin is removed, the power of prayer becomes evident in its amazing effectiveness.” (Simon J. Kistemaker)

 

(III) Burdens Lifted (v16c)

– The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man…

Once there is no hindrance in our hearts when we have confessed our sins and washed by the blood of Jesus, our prayer is being made effective.

 The righteous man is one who practises that which is commanded in v16a and b. Elijah the prophet, is described as a man subject to like passions as we are. His prayer was heard by God and effectual. The word “effectual” is in the passive voice, enabling by an external source. It is inspired prayer led by the Holy Spirit, made with utmost sincerity and devotion, where we empathise with the person whom we are praying for and cry out to God for him.

Romans 8:26-27 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

 Dear friends, how much life is there in your prayer life? The Lord wants us to plead with Him with our whole being.

 

(IV) More Prayer, More Power (v16d)

– availeth much.

An effectual fervent prayer will be heard by God and answered. It begins with our confession, the willingness to surrender our hearts to Him as we approach Him in prayer. The preparation begins not when we step into God’s House. The preparation of the heart begins before and culminates when we approach Him. It is a solemn occasion when we search our hearts and ask the Lord to cleanse us by His precious blood that we may be made clean again.

This is the biblical illustration that James gave of effectual fervent prayer citing Elijah.

James 5:17-18 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

The scene before us is one of crisis. The drought in Israel had gone on for 3 ½ years. Starvation plagued the land, people have died. The condition was devastating. Cattle and flock have languished. The people have backslidden. They went after other gods. God raised Elijah to challenge the evil regime of the Baal worshippers. Elijah won as we saw last week. Fire came down from heaven to authenticate the power of Elijah’s God. Elijah’s God, Jehovah, the God of Israel, is the living and true God. Not the dumb idols called Baal and Astheroth. The victory was thorough. Elijah proceeded to kill the 450 false prophets that devoured the land.

Two thoughts – (1) Praying According to God’s Will (v41-44) (2) Prayer Answered According to God’s Will (v45-46)

 

(1) Praying According to God’s will (v41-44)

God promised that He would send rain and Elijah took God at His Word and pleaded its fulfillment.

1 Kings 18:1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.

Elijah was not doing his own wishes but was doing God’s will.

John 15:7-8 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

 Elijah’s life was one of dependence. His will was absorbed in God’s will. He understood that God’s will is the best and he sought God’s will to be fulfilled in his life. Andrew Murray in his book “Humility” stated how we must first understand man’s position in the light of God’s created order. He tells us:

 “As God is the ever-living, ever-present, ever-acting One – who upholds all things by the Word of His power, and in whom all things exists – the relationship of man to God could only be one of unceasing, absolute, universal dependence.”

He exhorts us to recognize the truth that man’s relationship with God is one of unceasing dependence. Murray explained:

“As truly as God by His power once created, so truly by that same power must God, every moment, maintain. Man need only look back to the origin of existence and he will acknowledge that he owes everything to God. Man’s chief care, his highest virtue, and his only happiness, now and through all eternity, is to present himself as an empty vessel in which God can dwell and manifest His power and goodness. The life God bestows is imparted not once and for all, but each moment continuously, by the unceasing operation of His mighty power.”

Murray goes on to give to us the distorted order. He introduced the subject of pride. And he defined it this way:

“And so pride, or the loss of this humility, is the root of every sin and evil, It was when the now fallen angels began to look upon themselves with self-satisfaction that they were led to disobedience and were cast down from the light of heaven into outer darkness.”

Sin and evil are rooted in this heinous trait called “pride” which he aptly defined as the loss of humility. Do you know that sin did not occur first on earth but in heaven? Sin occurred when Lucifer, God’s most perfectly created of angels, began to surmise in his heart an existence independent of his Creator. And it began with just one rebellious thought of self-exaltation that defies God’s created order – “I will ascend into heaven”. After five thoughts, he sought to be like God, usurping the glory due to his Creator.

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. Isaiah 14:12-15 (KJV)

He was cast down, judged by God, condemned for all eternity with no possibility of redemption. How frightening is the loss of humility! Pride is the oldest sin, the first sin and humility therefore, the foremost virtue that saves us from the heinous sin of pride.

Israel was in the state of rebellion against God led by Ahab and Jezebel. God will bring back order in the life of His people.

41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

Elijah understood of a truth that God will keep His Word to send rain to cool and noruishes the impoverished land – 1 Kings 18:1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. 

The word “sound” literally means “voice”. It is as if Elijah had heard by faith the voice of God pronouncing the end of the drought and the coming of the rain. Indeed, it was God’s promise to Elijah that He would send the rain after he would confront Ahab. This he did as we saw last week.

42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink.

Elijah had thoroughly triumphed in the name of the Lord of hosts who sent fire from heaven. In Ahab’s dejection, Elijah encouraged to get some physical nourishment.

 And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

 As for himself, he tarried with God in prayer. He knew his mission is not completed. He separated himself from the commotion and sought for himself a solitary place to pray. He went to the top of Carmel. Our Lord often go alone to a solitary place to pray. Daniel has a place by his window facing Jerusalem where he would pray three times a day. Abraham would go to Bethel, the place where he first built an altar to the Lord in worship when he came to Canaan, to pray. We have the church prayer meeting, a room, this Praise Chapel, set aside, every Wednesday night, whereby we can call upon God.

Notice, Elijah went on his knees upon the ground to pray. He humbled himself before God. He showed himself in need of His blessing and help. This is the dependence we spoke of that characterize a man of God.[1]

43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea…

 Elijah was clear what to pray. He sought the Lord to fulfil His will to send the rain. He sent his servant to see the specific fulfilment of his prayer.

 Is there a certain request you have. Ask the Lord. If you need a job, ask the Lord for a job. If it is in certain area of your expertise, ask it.

 Matthew 7:7-11 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

… And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

Elijah was willing to trust God and wait upon him when he did not receive the answer to his prayer the first time. He knew it is God’s timing and not his. He was willing to be patient and to be persistent in his prayer. He did not give up.

 May God help us to be patient to wait upon God and not fret when the answer is not forthcoming.

44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand…

Elijah prayed and was confident that God would answer his prayer according to His promise. When his servant told him of the little cloud out of the sea, as small as a man’s hand, he knew by faith that God had fulfilled His promise. He was praying with the expectancy that God would fulfill His will.

Noah built the ark according to God’s instruction awaiting the coming of rain. He has not seen rain but he trusted God to fulfill His Word. Jesus said that His coming again will be like the time of Noah where there would be mockers and scoffers.

 2 Peter 3:3-7 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

When the Lord comes, our earthly labours would be over. We shall receive the glorified body. No more physical weakness to struggle with.

 …And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.

 Elijah acted by faith to warn Ahab to flee from the coming flood of rain. Elijah knew in his heart that God would keep His Word and he acted in faith to sound the alarm. He was sensitive to God’s will. He was prepared.

 Noah asked the animals and his family to board the ark and shut the door and the rain came tumbling down.

Similarly, the rapture will catch the unprepared by surprise. May you not be but be prepared. Yourself prepared and your family.

 

(2) Receiving According to God’s Will (v45-46)

45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

 Indeed, the sky began to darken and the rain clouds gathered and there was a great rain. Ahab raced with his chariot to outrun the storm.

 46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

 God gave to Elijah supernatural strength to outrun the chariot with his bare legs. Matthew Henry said well, “God will strengthen his people for every service to which his commandments and providence call them.”

 Indeed, we see God answering Elijah’s prayer.

 James 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

 Was Elijah anyone special? James said he is a sinner like us. He was a man subject to like passions. He has his weaknesses. Yet, God was pleased to use Elijah because he made himself available for God’s use. He freed his time for the Lord’s will to be fulfilled in his life.

 He was the light that was not hidden but placed on a hill so that others could see it afar off. He is a God-fearer who is spiritually alive and living in dependence upon his God. He was the salt that retarded the corruption that was in his world. He made a difference before he stood for God.

 

CONCLUSION

Elijah lived a light in the midst of darkness. He was a man of prayer. He lived a life of humble dependence upon God. The Lord is coming again. He needs man and woman to be sensitive to His will and will be willing to serve Him in their generation. Amen.

[1] Charles Swindoll, Elijah – A Man of Heroism and Humility, Thomas Nelson, 2000, 103-105.